AuthorTopic: International Women's Day (Read 971 times)

Tomorrow, that is 8th March, is being celebrated as the International Women's day.This thread is for congratulating and supporting all those self-empowered women all over the world, especially from the sub-continent and from those parts of the world, where women are still being treated as secondary citizens.

This is dedicated particularly to the many members of the 'stronger' sex, who are very much part of the DG, and yet are all in hiding, for some reason or the other.

DUBAI: Two years after Wajiha al-Huwaidar defied a Saudi ban on women driving by posting a video on the Internet showing her cruising in a remote area, she still dreams of getting behind the wheel like her other Gulf sisters.

Huwaidar's brazen act on International Women's Day 2008 was a symbolic gesture in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where women's rights lag way behind those in other nations in the oil-rich Gulf.

Unlike other Arab Gulf women, Saudi women still face an uphill struggle to gain political and social rights and need the consent of male guardians for almost everything, including obtaining a passport and travel.

They are also forced to cover up from head to toe when in public, and due to strict segregation rules their work opportunities are severely restricted.

Huwaidar is confident however that women will get into the driver's seat.

“Driving is going to happen during King Abdullah's time. Maybe this year,” she said, adding that the 85-year-old monarch “wants to make history.”

The reign of the reform-minded Abdullah has produced many changes since he ascended the throne in 2005 — including last year's unprecedented nomination of a woman, Norah al-Fayez, to a ministerial post.

He also inaugurated in September the kingdom's first mixed-gender university, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in a move that infuriated radical Islamists.

The role of Saudi women was celebrated again in January when King Abdullah gave doctor Khawlah al-Kurai a top medal in recognition of her research work to fight cancer.

“There has been a clear and strong political drive aiming to allow mixing between genders...which would open many doors to women,” said female lecturer at King Saud University, Hatoon al-Fassi.

But Fassi noted that because of the strict rules of segregation at the university, men and women academics cannot meet face-to-face but “over the phone.”

“The society is threatened. I don't feel any clarity in the future of the Saudi woman,” she said, citing top radical cleric Abdul Rahaman al-Barrak who last month issued a religious edict calling for those who promote mixing between genders to be “put to death.”

In other Gulf states, women are ahead in terms of political participation and freedom.

In Kuwait, women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 2005 and made history in 2009 when four female lawmakers were voted into parliament.

“These rights did not come easily. They were a result of action, and a demand movement,” said Kawthar al-Jawaan, the head of Kuwait's Women Empowerment Centre.

“The country and the society are open,” unlike in Saudi Arabia, she said.

But despite their political success, Kuwaiti women still face the ire of some hardliner MPs who insist they adhere to a strict Islamic dress code — although the constitution guarantees personal freedoms.

“The issue of hijab (veil) was the last card being played by those opposing women's political participation,” said Jawaan.

Women in the United Arab Emirates, who stick to the traditional dress code of a black abaya cloak topped mostly with a loose head cover, have also made great strides — and can cruise in fancy cars.

There are two women cabinet ministers in the UAE and several others hold top posts in government departments, amid an apparent official drive to push them to the forefront of decision-making.

“The (country's) leadership has been supportive,” said Emirati political science lecturer Ibtisam al-Ketbi.

But she admitted that in most Gulf countries, where democracy remains nascent or non-existent, men and women depend on the wish of the regimes in obtaining rights.

“Apart from Kuwait, getting rights in these societies tend to take the form of grants that are initiated by the leadership,” she said.

Bahraini women, like their Kuwaiti counterparts, can dress as they wish and are represented by one woman in parliament.

Qatar does not have an elected parliament but a woman is part of the government in the gas-rich nation.

Oman was the first Gulf Arab country to give women the right to vote and run for public office in 1994.

But regardless of their achievements, said Ketbi, Gulf women, like most of their Arab sisters, are still “immature” when it comes to citizenship rights because they cannot pass their nationality to children born to foreign fathers.

“This issue is ruled by a macho mentality,” she added.

Men also continue to have the upper hand when it comes to issues related to divorce and the custody of children, on the back of religious pretexts.

“The interpretations of the Quranic verses, which are subject to the interpreter's frame of mind, have wronged women,” Ketbi said.

Tomorrow, that is 8th March, is being celebrated as the International Women's day.This thread is for congratulating and supporting all those self-empowered women all over the world, especially from the sub-continent and from those parts of the world, where women are still being treated as secondary citizens.

This is dedicated particularly to the many members of the 'stronger' sex, who are very much part of the DG, and yet are all in hiding, for some reason or the other.

oh quit sucking up

Logged

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. -- Mohandas K *hi

on a tangential note, it is pretty bold reforms to allow women to drive . they had the house in order all this while and now some right wing lunatic wants to unleash them on streets :p

Logged

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. -- Mohandas K *hi

Tomorrow, that is 8th March, is being celebrated as the International Women's day.This thread is for congratulating and supporting all those self-empowered women all over the world, especially from the sub-continent and from those parts of the world, where women are still being treated as secondary citizens.

This is dedicated particularly to the many members of the 'stronger' sex, who are very much part of the DG, and yet are all in hiding, for some reason or the other.

oh quit sucking up

I don't mind doing that.............part of our marketing efforts...............anything for the DG.

On a serious note, as far as India is concerned, I think it is good that the Government is proposing a 30% quots for the women in the parliament, where as currently it is less than 10%. Lalu and Mulayam are against it for the reasons of their own Vote banks : Mulayam saying that it will Hurt Muslims (really?) and Lalu saying that it will hurt Dalts (really?).

On a serious note, as far as India is concerned, I think it is good that the Government is proposing a 30% quots for the women in the parliament, where as currently it is less than 10%. Lalu and Mulayam are against it for the reasons of their own Vote banks : Mulayam saying that it will Hurt Muslims (really?) and Lalu saying that it will hurt Dalts (really?).

Don't know about the "good" part ... but why will this will hurt the Muslim/Dalit vote bank. Are they proposing a quota to be taken out of other minority quotas (do they exist) or is it because within these minorities, the gender bias is much stronger than in the general population?

NEW DELHI: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday introduced the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha but protests by SP, RJD and BSP MPs led to a quick adjournment. The debate on the bill is to begin soon.

The protesting MPs were demanding reservation to Dalit, OBC and minority community in the Women's Reservation Bill. JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said another meeting will be held just before voting on the bill in Rajya Sabha today. The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 12 noon.

The vote is the first step in making the 33% quota for women in Parliament and assemblies a reality. The battle in Lok Sabha remains, but the scales will tilt irretrievably. A "yes" vote means West Bengal and Tamil Nadu assemblies, where elections are due in 2011, could have no less than 98 and 78 women MLAs. The next LS will have at least 181 women, up from 59 in the present House.

In the final countdown, numbers are solidly stacked up for the Constitution (108th) amendment, better known as "Women's Bill". Congress managers are talking of 180 votes with 155 needed for a two-thirds majority. They see JD(U) chief and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's sudden support for the Bill as having hit the OBC-led opposition squarely in the midriff.

The bill now enjoys overwhelming support of not just the ruling coalition but has the backing of both BJP and the Left as well as a number of smaller parties. Parties like TDP, DMK, AIADMK, SAD and National Conference lend critical mass. JD(U) has not issued a whip, but most of its MPs will support the bill.

With 33 crore registered women voters in India, a party can ill-afford to be "anti-women", in the centenary year of International Women's Day. In a House with 233 MPs at present, the match is looking one-sided. Till Congress chief Sonia *hi gave it a hard push, the situation seemed different. Ever since the H D Deve Gowda government first introduced it in September 1996, the Bill has been frozen with innumerable "formulae" failing to break the jinx.

In Rajya Sabha, Congress has 71 members, BJP 45, CPM 15, AIADMK 7, NCP 6, CPI 5, DMK 4, BJD 4, Telugu Desam, Trinamool Congress and AGP 2 each and Forward Bloc and RSP 1 each. These parties support the bill and account for 165. SAD has 3 MPs and at least five of JD(U)'s seven will back the bill. The Women's Reservation Bill has seen several twists and turns but usually ended in a blind alley. In case of Deve Gowda and then I K Gujral, the governments fell. In 1998, the same story repeated itself. In 1999, there were furious scenes in Lok Sabha with SP's S P Singh snatching the papers from the hands of then law minister Ram Jethmalani.

The Bill was introduced in RS in 2008. The panel, reconstituted in May 2009 under Congress MP Jayanthi Natarajan, submitted its report in Dec 2009. The Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Feb 25 this year. The legislation has Sonia's backing with the Congress chief seeing it as part of her late husband Rajiv *hi's unfulfilled dream.

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. -- Mohandas K *hi